Johnson, James

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James P. Johnson (James Price Johnson, also known as Jimmy Johnson) was an African-American pianist and composer. A pioneer of the stride style of jazz piano, he along with Jelly Roll Morton, were arguably the two most important pianists who bridged the ragtime and jazz eras, and the two most important catalysts in the evolution of ragtime piano into jazz. As such, he was a model for Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum and his more famous pupil, Fats Waller. His large contribution to American musical theatre, are often overlooked, and as such, he has been referred to by Reed College musicologist David Schiff, as “The Invisible Pianist”.